>>trace: and champagne corks can be dangerous. it is warned that a popped champagne cork traveling at 50 miles per hour could cause serious damage and blindness. many of us will pop some sham point tonight and the organization says it is the most common cause of holiday-related eye injuries. there is a whole list of safety tips to avoid the blindness from corks but it comes down do this. the don't aim the bottle at anyone and if you hit yourself in the eye you have had plenty of champagne. that is it for "studio b" today. i'll be back later at 6:00 eastern and 4:00 in the west. "your world" is next. happy new year, everyone. >> a deal far from being done,

only eight hours to go. stocks celebrating just the same. the details are out. the dirt is in. now the big question: will it get the vote? very warm welcome, everyone, i am here tonight for neil cavuto with "your world." stocks finishing up as a deal to avoid massive tax hikes is making up, the dow up 189 points at the close. this is what we get from the senate: taxes go up for families making more than $450,000 or more. the top tax rate jumping to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. the deal increases revenues by $600 billion over the decade. the deal does not contain any new spending cuts according to g.o.p. sources. is that a deal wall street should be cheering in we are on top of it with ed henry and

charles payne and lauren, and scott martin on the potential economic fallout. charles, follow the rally. what is the message? >> maybe it is over. maybe the sword we have been hearing about is over and impacted the general committee to a point where any deal could be better than no deal. also, it could have been worse that is what we are hearing. dividends taxed at 23 percent with obama's health care rather than 43 percent, that is a sigh of relief. especially older people with fix the investment living east dividends. the big question to wall street is the debt ceiling. they are negotiating three month pause or one year pause. can you imagine how much deficit spending we can get in a year

without a cap? >> i am thinking the stock market is because we have hours before the i ball drops, the calm before the storm and watch out wednesday. what do you think in. >> well, watch out wednesday, that is the point. if you look at market the last two weeks, people have been selling ahead of the deal so it is a sell the news type of issue. charles hit the point on the head. this is not a tax issue whether it is $450,000 or $500,000 or $1 million. it is the spending issue. the democrats want to raise the debt ceiling and do not want spending cuts cuts and no sequestration. >> what will happen on wednesday? >> again, i want to caution the stock market will not be the

best barometer. >> why? i thought the message was always in the markets especially the interest rate. rates were way up. >> but there is in fear on wall street. there is a total disconnect between that and the fact that in some ways all the nonsense makes stocks and hard assets like gold and silver the only way to invest. when you see higher taxes on dividends and capital gains you need a return on your money and take greater risk and maybe growth stocks and that is what we saw in the market. a lot of stocks that made big moves, areas that have been depressed, including coal and things like that. do not be surprised not market goes up, but it is not a good deal. >> scott, it was a fabulous year for the market without focus on the fundamentals.

can you imagine to we looked at the corporate balance sheets. what do you predict? >>guest: what we will do is just that and charles brought that up. companies are doing great, with so much cash they do not know what to do. they are lean, mean and profitable. but the economy, the hard data like g.d.p. and unlimit, it is lousy. what do did you focus on? the health of the corporate world? or do did you focus on the fundamental economy? that is where the market gets to the crossroads when we pass this issue. >> i think the economy is a powder keg waiting to spread. we have green chutes or bright spots in housing. and unemployment seems to be improving. we will get the next report next week for december and we hope the fiscal cliff does not thwart this but the underlying health of the economy is as good as its has been, do you agree, the laugh year or two?

>>guest: well, it has been a bad one or two years, so, yes, if you look at it, i agree, it is half full. the glass needs to be a lot more full to keep stocks up at this level. >> we do not want to get ahead of ourselves and i was trying to be bullish on the economy because economists are looking for a downgrade next quarter at 2 percent growth but we have to go back to what happened after tarp, there was so much commotion and people were so concerned about that and the markets sold off and they sold off deeper but came back big. >>guest: over a series of years from 6,000 to 10,000 in the dow over a month and it took several years to get back. we have extended unemployment benefits for yet another year. we are barely bumping across the bottom and the great thing of our stock market we have companies representing america around the world so caterpillar

was up big. we do not want to hurt the large corporations that could take advantage of the rest of the world besides america and europe that are on fire. we will be lucky to escape a double dip recession. we will bump along the road. >> you are not satisfied this is the new normal? >> no, capitalism is just trying to survive by the skin of its teeth. >> great stuff, guys. the president today not giving republicans an inch for spending cuts. >> if republicans think i won't finish the job -- will finish the job of deficit reduction through spending cuts if they think that is the formula if how we solve this thing, they have another thing coming. that is not how it will work. >> and ed henry on how this is playing out. that is your take on how close we may or may not be to a deal

to avoid the fiscal cliff? >>guest: we have a framework on taxes. they are working out a deal on the massive spending hikes. taking an amount to it as the president said, not a scalpel and it could be too deep. we are a way of from dealing with that. but i make the point that it is still not clear whether a deal like this could make it through the senate. it seems likely the republican leader is on it but the bigger question is, will it get through the house of representatives republicans? conservatives will be frustrated there is no spending cut? also, republicans today are saying they were inflamed with their opposition hardened that the president came out and pointed his finger at republicans and made it like a campaign-style i vent and senator john mccain ripped it

to the president saying that is not how he should do it in the final hours. >> it is the time for presidential leadership. it is time to stop the cheerleading the time to stop the campaign. the president won. we know that. he won fair and square. but isn't it now time to govern? >>reporter: the white house response is the president has been trying to govern and he spent hours and hours with speaker boehner trying to work on the so-called grand bargain, and the $4 trillion debt deal and the question on the spending cuts that would have not only tax increases but spending cuts, changes to medicare and medicaid, and potentially social security as well, and the white house says the republicans on the hill complaining of this, now, but the president was willing to do a deal like that and it was republicans like speaker boehner who walked away. >> thank you, ed. the first senate vote is expected in a couple of hours, but if it gets through the

senate, we really don't know if this has any chance as passing in the house of representatives and, chad, over to you. how will the evening play out? >> well, i want do be very clear there is no plan at this point for a vote in the senate. they want to bring all their members together at some point and talk about this but they have to get over the issue of the sequester. republicans want to have some sort of spending cut. mcconnell, the minority leader in the senate thought he had an arrangement and he had a deal on how to deal with the sequester the he thought when he went to bed last night there would be an agreement to have two proposals: one democratic, one republican to deal with the sequester. until that is resolved they cannot forge ahead. he said let's not blow this up if we cannot get beyond the sequester, at least do the tax

part. if you do not have the tax cuts, rather, the spending cuts in the house of representatives, i talked to a republican congress hand with ties to the leadership early today, and he told me that our guys will go ballistic if we do not get spending cuts. >> is there anything other than sequestration that could appease the republicans? any other spending cuts? anything on the table? or just too little too late? >> that is hard. remember, we only go over half of the cliff at midnight tonight. that makes it almost hard to avoid by the parliament, the tax cut portion. but if sequester, the budget control act from august of 2011, that has to be order by the president and it does not kick in, until january 2nd. the idea they could ram something through the senate tonight and move to the house of representatives, house republican sources say there is no way they would do this tonight. if they did, they would have to do it in the light of day and

they want to check with their members and talk to them about this. they don't know where the members would stand. >> everyone has to be reminded the sequestration was put in effect as a punitive measure to motivate lawmakers to get something done so if that sequestration goes into effect, it is the spending cuts but to the harm of the economy, so it is a no win swiss. >> some think that can be the only way to cut spending. the orange sequester back in the 19 80's, i can point to quotes from bob dole the minority leader or majority leader in the senate at that time saying we will not go down that road they turned that off in the late 1990's and now we are a few hours away from the first sequester in history. >> great do talk to you. thank you. how is main street dealing with this as we wait for the ball do drop in times square? possibly bringing a big tax hike

with it? my colleague, lauren, is in the thick of it all in new york city this is historic time in times square to ring in the new year. what is the sentiment like? are people aware what is going on in washington, dc? are they upbeat? downbeat? unaffected? disaffected? what is the sense? >>reporter: it is an interesting year and the new year's eve ball takes on a different level of importance this year. we are right near times square, the crossroads of the world, right, where main street meets washington, dc, meets wall street street and it comes together and you can get a great feel of how real people, the average american, the average global citizen, reacts to things that are if many ways not only confusing and difficult to understand but uncertain so we caught up with them today. take a listen of everything they had to say how it is personal if

some and how it will affect their paychecks and spending in the new year. >> it is everyone to blame. the congress needs to get their act together. that is my we opinion. >> we need spending cuts. >> spending cuts. >> that is not happening. >> everyone makes promises on both sides and no one has fulfilled the promises. >> it will affect everything including quality of life. >> both a mess. >> no one is doing their job. >> that does not sound encouraging on a day when we are supposed to reflect about 2012 and, maybe, saying our wishes and resolutions for 2013 this is what we are talking about. >> butject -- but jokesters, nonetheless, behind you. >> negotiations ongoing and bret baier and senator john mccain are my guests, coming up.

>> it will have to be a matter of shared sacrifice as long as i am president. i will be president for the next four years i hope. >> whatever the group of people that he was talking to were laughing and cheering and applauding, as we are on the brink of this collapse, that's not the way presidents should lead. power down your little word game. i think your friends will understand. oh no, it's actually my geico app...see? ...i just uh paid my bill. did you really? from the plane? yeah, i can manage my policy, get roadside assistance, pretty much access geico 24/7. sounds a little too good to be true sir. i'll believe that when pigs fly. ok, did she seriously just say that? geico. just click away with our free mobile app.

>> let's go straight to bret baier with breaking news for you. congress, we understand will not immediate the deadline on voting to avert the fiscal cliff. so, bret baier, welcome to you. all the news trickling out today, but it looks like at least the house of representatives will not vote on any deal to avoid the fiscal

cliff. what is the latest? >> seconds ago, confirmation that, in fact, the house will not take up any fiscal cliff vote tonight even if the senate manages to get a piece of legislation to the floor and gets over the hurdles we have talked about. if there are the votes to get it on the senate side question confirm, right now, from our people on capitol hill, including chad, who you just talked to, the house will not take up any fiscal cliff vote even if the senate does pass something tonight as you look at the senator from missouri speaking on the senate floor. that means the country is going over the fiscal cliff technically. as we have known congress to do

before, you can have maneuvers by which they rewind the clock and if they go into tomorrow and they actually pass a piece of legislation they can rewind it to the point they need to be. some of the stipulations about the sequester and those are the across-the-board cuts do not kick in, until january 2nd so those are some of the things people are talking about. however, the biggest thing that everyone is talking about, are there really the votes to get this through? not only the senate, but, primarily, in the house of representatives? >> we know plan "b" which looked for tax hikes of earners over $1 million a year, so some of the framework, lowering to $450,000 joint filers so if you do not get $1 million passed in the

house it is unlikely you will get $450,000 passed and the minority leader if the senate seemed near tears, senator mcconnell. it seems a mess. >>bret: speaker boehner, with only republicans, the plan "b" vote, that is what that was. this is different. it who is democrats, as well. the question is, will the speaker fiscal year he gets to the point where a majority of his majority does not support the legislation that comes over from the senate, assuming it is through the senate, now, if it comes over to the house of representatives and conservatives in house caucus, a majoriy of them, do not support it, does he, then, still bring it to the floor and pass it with a majority of democratic votes? that is something that he has not beening to do and he talked about that last year, and it is

the hastert rule, the majority of the majority, something that speaker said he would stick to. >> a final question, could the house of representatives, or would the house is decided to vote if there were no spending cuts on the table if the sequestration was involved? >>bret: that is the biggest sticking point. i do. now the republicans are saying they want to have that fight on the other side. they want to have that fight with the debt ceiling as the back drop. but some republicans on capitol hill say, we heard this in the reagan years, do the taxes now and we will do the spending cuts later and it does not happen. there is skepticism. >> a lot of details all overtime place. thank you so much for joining us. we have senator john mccain weighing in for us next. keep it here. this is america.

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>> nfl teams sent their coaches packing. how is washington, dc treating its lawmakers? with a raise. byron york is scratching his head to say the least. you use the phrase "tone deaf" which is right considering the fact that it looks like we are going over the fiscal cliff, the house of representatives saying they will not vote tonight and right now we are going over the fiscal cliff but they are getting a raise. >> it makes no sense at all. the president issued an executive order affecting a lot people, a lot of workers in the executive branch and in congress, as well, and also affects the vice president, and the speaker boehner and all these guys are getting a pay raise while this is happening. i cannot imagine the public is going to view this positively

when they see congress unable to make the most basic decision about how they receive for the next year and the president gives them a pay raise. >> it is not percent began dick pay raise, the vice president pay will increase from $225,000 to $231,000 a year but, again, the timing is curious. what do you think was going on? >>guest: many are not getting any raise across america, and many americans are looking for work. this is also something different, i called up someone on capitol hill and said, the president gave you a pay raise, doesn't congress handle that itself? there is a separation of powers thing, they are big on handling their own pay but the president unfroze the cost-of-living adjustment for a lot of people including congress, when congress gets around to a spending bill, they will freeze it back up so they will undo some of what the president has

done. >> the republican set portman asked the president to rescind this given the timing. >>reporter: they don't want it. >> i threw this in, but, yes, if private workers or workers for public companies, personal incomes, according to government data, they have been flat for two years here. it makes you wonder about the timing and whether there is a disdebt between washington, dc, dealings, and main street dealings. >>guest: the federal workforce has done well in this terrible economic time especially in washington. i live in washington, dc there is essentially no recession in washington. certainly not in the government sector so for the president to give a raise if a situation where most americans have not gotten a raise at all it looks bad and particularly bad at a time when the government seems to be frozen. >> a lot of people may argue that congress does not deserve a

raise considering this fiscal cliff situation and the breaking news is no voice in the house tonight. how will it end up? >>reporter: it will end up how we have always known which is republicans are going to agree to an increase in the tax rates for the highest earners. in exchange they will not get a lot. but there will be an agreement. they are haggling over the amount, $250,000 to $400,000, around that and concerns about sequestration cuts. i have talked to senator whose say they could live with the taxes but the automatic across-the-board cuts especially in defense, because the sequestration cuts are divides half between defense and half the rest of discretionary spending, that is disproportionate hit on defense so a lot of republicans, some democrats, too, are worried. >> thank you so much.

>> my preference would have been to solve all the problems in the context of a larger agreement, a bigger deal, a grand bargain, whatever you want to call it works this congress, that was obviously a little too much to hope for at this time. it will have to be a matter shared sacrifice. at least as long as i'm president. i am going to be president if the next four years i hope. >> well, senator john mccain blasting president obama's comments on debt negotiations. the senator is joining us from the capitol. you said that the president was antagonizing congress? >>guest: well, you played the clip. that is the point when we are in sensitive and serious negotiations. you talked with byron about the

sequestration issue, a matter of great concern. when the secretary of defense says if we do sequestration it will devastate our national security, our ability to defend the nation, and the president is going over there joking around and saying things that can be not conducive to sitting across the table and getting things accomplished. >> so, help us through the technical as expects of this. we are learning the house of representatives will not vote on a deal today which means we are tumbling off the cliff. what is next? >>guest: well, probably tonight it is very possible the senate could vote on the package and when the house comes back after the 1st they will vote. that is not a done deal. many house member promised not

to raise taxes. the senate part can be done if, and i emphasize "if," sequestration is part of this. i cannot support a proposal that our secretary of defenseity in and joint chiefs of staff. i believe it will be a couple of months' delay would include a commitment for a vote as part of the package. >> something more near-term, a g.o.p. senator and senate aide tell fox there is a 4:30, right now, g.o.p. members meeting. will that happen? what do you expect to go on? >>guest: it will happen and what will probably happen is senator mcconnell will explain to us the results of his negotiations which have been frantic and present, hopefully, and i emphasize hopefully,

present the final details of the role they have agreed to. hopefully. >> final details. what is the likelihood they include appropriate spending cuts? >>guest: about zero. zero. zero. that is why the upcoming debt limit in a couple of months extension will be knock down drag out fight. >> what do the republicans have to do to gain leverage? >>guest: convince the american people to address entitlements and spending and we new have given the american people $16 trillion debt. we burned through $2.7 trillion in the last few months. >> you are so gracious to join us on this holiday. happy new year.

>> report as deal will hike taxes on people making more than $400,000 a year, but if the house did not pass a plan on hiking taxes on millionaires how will this pass? congressman, thank you for joining us. what is your take on the framework of the deal that has a lowered learn hold with those earning more than $450,000.

you did not like $1m. >> i am looking for any person that says raising taxes will create jobs this could impact a million small businesses paying more in taxes but that is a position most republicans, we do not want to raise taxes but i fear a deal with no spending cuts and raising taxes, three strikes you are out, and not a if deal and not a solution to our problems. >> we have known that the congressional budget office predicting if we go over the cliff it will send the economy back into a recession and we hear now the house you will not vote tonight because there is nothing to vote on despite the work done today and over the weekend, nothing for the house to vote on, which begs the question, if we go over the cliff, which it appears likely, what next? >>guest: the i.r.s. has postponed the withholding tables so we have a few more days. but the senate has not pass add

budget in 1,341 days. i did not expect them to work quickly today but hopefully they can put something out that includes spending cuts because that is the problem. we have the fiscal cliff and the debt ceiling and again, that remains a problem and any deal that ignores spending is no real solution and just punts and makes it more difficult down the road. >> how do you get leverage negotiating around the debt ceiling, it is the second time in two year we have blown past the ceiling but no one cares? there is no leverage? >>guest: the bad debt deal creates the situation today 17 months ago and we will face that again in a couple of months but i hope, the last thing remembers want to do is have any say on the potential deal. we will hear the details in the

next couple of hours and get final details out to us but it looks like three strikes going the wrong direction and that is frankly what most of my constituents feared washington would do, ignore the real problems and say they have solved it and go home for the new year and that, again, that does not solve the spending problem here in our capitol. >> congressman, we appreciate your take. thank you. >> hours to go before the new year and the market could be closed rallying 166 points today but there are hours to go. to democratic congressman charles rangel. taxes are going up for the higher earners but the sequestration, if that goes in effect, it could do serious economic damage in defense industry jobs. >>guest: it is amazing how people have no confidence just when people say we have an outline and it looks like we are close do deal people are happy. the fact is we don't know

whether we have a deal or not. but if the white house and the senate can leak out information to the press that we are close, accept that. the sequestration is a problem that we created and one that we can move on and deal with at another time. i hope this is the case. right now, people want to see their government work together and if we have that type of attitude rather than one of confrontation, there is no problem before us that collectively we cannot resolve. >> congressman rangel, this confidence in government question, why should americans be confident in congress, in you, when we have been down this road before in the debt ceiling fight of a year and a half ago and it is totally dysfunctional. we cannot get a deal or a compromise. it is one cliff after another. >>guest: come on now, we are bringing good news we are already there and you are saying "what if." you are probably right.

these are problems we will have to face. >> you think we are almost there but senator john mccain is throwing up his hands. >>guest: senator john mccain and i are in the same position, outside of the loop. we are not involved in the negotiations. we had some good news just a few minutes ago that we probably are close to resolution, a temporary resolution of the problem. this is not the time for us to be complaining about problems that are going to be down the road. but a temporary resolution is like the banned phrase. we can we just put the period on this and move on? we need a grand bargain. >>guest: we all want a grand bargain but the people at the stock market are looking forward to this, we are not falling off

cliff. we should not be proud of the fact that leaders that have been elected are talking with each other. for cryin' out loud, don't knock that. that is all we have. we have to take that and see if we can improve upon it before but we have anything that has been publicly anoned, i don't think we should be complaining that it is not as grand add we wish. a we should do now is learn a lesson and promise the american people this will never happen again. >> i am come laning because i don't know what my tax bill will look like and that scares me, quite honestly. sorry to leave it there, don't mean to take the last word. >>guest: 2013 is tomorrow so see whether weigh can get some good exciting news tonight and work together and try to make up for the disappointments we have caused the american people and to milk certain we don't cause this for the entire world. >>neil: well look at the glass

half full because you are telling us to. thank you. >>guest: good for you. >> again, congressman charlie rangel. another scathing report on the benghazi attack and the state department is not the only one taking the blame. we will have that store you next. doctor told me that i could smoke for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serus allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away

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.. >> former president george h.w. bush is still in the hospital in houston but out of the intensive care. our reporter is in houston and

joins us on the telephone. >>reporter: we got confirmation the former president will spend the final day of 2012 in the hospital but the good news is his condition has improved so much that the doctors moved him out of the intensive care over the weekend. last upstate that we received from his spokesperson came over the weekend so, hopefully, the same "no news is good news" provens true today and bush 41, he is 88 years old and hospitalized since the day after thanksgiving and been at the hospital for 39 days first over a lingering cough and then a fever so it has been a battle but he is in good spirits with his family, and even singing with some of the medical staff. so his condition is improving but it looks like our nation's oldest living former president will bring in the new year from the hospital. >> wishing him a speedy recovery. thank you, christine, for that

update. >> on a not so nice note, a bipartisan senate report on benghazi attack not just slamming the state department for its actions but this investigation expanding fault to the pentagon and to the white house. thank you for joining us. you always said it was a terrorist attack from the time it happened back on september 11th, what do you think of where we have come since then? >>guest: what i see is typical washington bureaucracy and that is, you try to spread the blame around so if everyone is to blame that no one is at fault. that is what is happening. it started out with the state department internal investigation. it said four people died but it wasn't anyone's fault. we will have to tighten some things up. now you have the senate report that is putting blame on the intelligence community and the

pentagon and reading from the senate report it says intelligence reports provide a clear picture of a rapidly deteriorating threat environment in libya that should have been sufficient to inform policymakers of the growing danger but it wasn't. if the intelligence community is to be be blamed for not putting forth reports and in the very senate report calmed flashing red, a special report on the terrorist attack in benghazi, that is the name of the report, i don't know what more the folk could do, quite frankly. >> with all respect to secretary of state hillary clinton and, of course, wishing her a speedy recovery, what is the harm in waiting for the secretary of state to be fully recovered to get the testimony? there has been so much talk about her benghazi testimony and if that the happen and it has been this long, it is such a tragedy, why is it not, why not wait for the secretary of

state's testimony as long as it should take. >> the secretary could have testified long before this but now that she is physically impaired, i would think they wouldn't want anything to happen until she is recovered and she is in a position to testify where there would be no doubt as to her lack of impairment to testify. >> we are getting a report she is doing well and we will have more on that here in a moment. at what point, how do you see this wrapping up? will the average pay the rice? >> the state department will be found most accountable. four people have been disciplined but there are other reports is they have been reassigned and any are coming behalf off leave, right back to work, so this could be something unless and until the committees in the congress hold the bureau

create responsible, it will continue to shift the blame, move things around, and things will change at speed of a glacier. >> captain n ash, thank you. doctors releasing new information on secretary of state, hillary clinton's, condition as she recovers. >> we got an update from the wire service. they are saying her doctors reporting she is making excellent progress and theyry ca full recovery. they say she suffered a blood clot between the brain and the skull behind her right ear and they are saying she did not suffer a stroke, does not suffer any neurological damage and is being treated with blood thinners and expected to remain in a nor hospital at least until tuesday. this is not the first time hillary clinton has suffered a

blood clot. she had one back in 1998 and she said it was the worst health experience she ever suffered. doctors say patient whose experience this are likely to have repeat episodes. a short time ago her daughter was seen leaving the hospital and she does not respond to questions. since hillary clinton suffered a concussion, she has kept a low from file and not made any public appearances and did not schedule trips overseas and as you mentioned she did not testify before congress concerning the attack on the consulate in benghazi, libya, but at this hour doctors say she is making excellent progress and they expect hillary clinton to headache a full recovery but tonight is spent in a new year's hospital. >> thank you, david lee. back to the fiscal cliff. don't blame congress for this scramble, blame the media?

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>> this is new york's times square with a million people on average watching the ball drop and people are getting ready for the tradition. in washington, it is a different scene waiting for the final "deal" to drop. or drop kick. and new to mike emanuel. what do you hear? >> this is a huge type of the day. senator mcconnell is briefing republican senators on where it stands with the negotiations. we will look at the key points of the framework. if you make more than $400,000, it raises your taxes. couples making more than $42350,000 see their taxes go up and making sure that medical doctors do not take a huge pay cuts is fixed for a year and

unemployment benefits are addressed and alternate minimum tax is fixed pamly and on the estate tax an exemption for states up to $5 million for individuals and $10 million for a couple. on the tax issues, senator mcconnell says there is a agreement. we should get it done now. >> the president said in the television appearance, we are very, very close to an agreement. we need to protect american families. and job creators from this looming tax hike. everyone agrees the action is necessary. i can report we have reached an agreement on all of the tax, the tax, the tax issues. >>reporter: lawmakers are saying to avoid americans getting hammered by new taxes in the new year get this part done, and work out the other issues that are still on the table in the new year. the bottom line, republican senators are being briefed by the lead negotiator at this hour.

>> thank you, mike emanuel. >> the late word is there will be no vote in the house of representatives because there is nothing to vote on. so we are tumbling over the fiscal cliff for now. the question after the interview, president obama sitting down with one sunday talk show host yesterday and that host is capping flak if not asking the tough questions on taxes and spending and follow-up >> politics is always messy. people have asked me about the film "lincoln" and --. >> is this your lincoln moment? >> no, i never compare myself to lincoln. and, obviously the magnitude of the issues are quite different from the civil war and slavery. >> how accountable are you for the fact that washington is not getting anything done? >> if you look at my track record over the last two years, i cut spending by over $1 trillion in 2011.

>> and now, what do you think of how the media is treating the president as we muddle through this fiscal mess? >> it is a consequential time, the president has to answer tough questions about the toughest questions of our time and he sits down with "meet the press" and the president and the white house believes this is his opportunity to speak to america, to speak broadly. what he did, he used the interview to stand it will be republicans' fault if we go over the cliff. the reporter did not push back and asked him only, do you bear some fault, but, also, consoled him, you have had a tough go with congress. that is not the point. >> an issue that stood future me is the president taking credit for $1 trillion in cuts when it was actually just reducing the

growth of the deficit spending but not cutting. your comments on this? >>guest: $150 billion is how much spending went up in the near 2011 he claimed the tax cut, or spending cut happened so it is not true. he cannot say that on tv and -- he expected people to believe that there is truth. >> it has been a busy hour, thank you for joining us. neil cavuto is back this week and here is who a healthy new year. treats day after day... block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero hearurn. hi victor! mom? i know you got to go in a minute but this is a real quick me, that's perfect for two! campbell's chunky beef with country vegetables, poured over rice! [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right.